A Weekend in Paris is Never Long Enough (Day 1 and 2)

It is an amazing feeling knowing that in hours after your last class on Thursday, you'll be hopping on a flight for the City of Light. Even better that the flight is only an hour. They even had some great healthy snacks that were a huge trade up from any American Airlines choices.

As soon as we landed at Charles De Gaulle, I couldn't help but smile. The first thing I was looking for, to prove I was back in France was the "Sortie" over the exits. And after I got off the plane, there it was! I giggled to myself because now it was all real. 3 years and 4 months later, to the day, I was back in Paris.
The first step was finding our way into the city and our hostel. I both found out how much French I knew and how much I didn't. After trying to talk to 3 people, I realized I needed to work on my comprehension the most. But hey, I have 2 weeks in Nice to practice.
We made it to Gare Du Nord just fine and our hostel was conveniently a block away.

It could not have been more perfect. And it had just opened 6 days ago. Honestly, we thought we were in the wrong place. We saw the bar first, which was so modern and new, then someone directed us to the front desk.

The rooms were clean (we were probably the first people to sleep on the beds) and the bunks had features such as, usb charging ports, outlets, a light, it was fantastic. Plus the pillow and mattress were much softer than the ones at Regents.

   

We decided that the first night in Paris dinner had to be authentic, so we had one of the staff from the hostel show us the best place to go. The food was great. The restaurant was still serving dinner at 9pm when we arrived but to be fair, it was still light outside.

We all ordered the lasagna; I thought it looked great, plus it was vegetarian, Courtney wanted something vegetarian as well, and I think Justin couldn't read anything else on the menu so he felt it was a safe choice. It had goat cheese and zucchini in it, gosh it was amazing. Then Justin and I split one of the most wonderful Bordeauxs that has ever touched my lips.

Then for dessert, I got the creme brûlée, my vice. And I tried asking the waiter what one of the ingredients was, he had the hardest time trying to explain it. It turns out it was a carmel candy. An excellent addition to the creamy dish.

But we were exhausted so we dragged ourselves back to our rooms and slept. And I really slept because my phone wasn't charging like I thought it was, so that alarm clock I was depending on was dead like me.

Courtney and Justin thought I had been either, killed by my Brazilian roommate or I left them to tour Paris by myself. Nope, just knocked out with no alarm clock haha

We wanted to go to the Opera House but had 45 minutes until the next tour, so we went to the Galleries Layfayette, a stunningly beautiful mall a block over.

And I can't even convey to you how beautiful the 9 story shopping haven is so I'll so you.

The 118 year old super mall is home to a slew of designer brands such as Channel, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Fendi, Gucci....

And Cartier (which made me excited because they had a poster from one of my favorite Ad campaigns).

And Courtney and Justin tried their first French macaroons, some of the best macaroons you can buy. They were delicious of course.

We set off to get our Paris Passes and to check out one of the most beautiful pieces of history in the city, the Paris Opera House.

I had forgotten how beautiful it was, every inch of the building has a purpose and there are over 50 different kinds of marble.

But we knew that we had to get on the train to go to Versailles because it's kind of far outside of the city of Paris.

Of course, we were all in awe of the beautiful Chateau but if I never had to walk on cobble stones again, it would be too soon.

The last time I went to Paris, Versailles was my favorite part. But I remember not even fathoming how amazing it was. People were telling me how beautiful and incredible it was and it never registered until I saw it up close.

Check out this gem from 2010 when I went on my choir trip. Shout out to Cassie Pelton and Jessica Livon :)

Luckily this time it was a beautiful day. Last time it was just a tad chilly that march. 

It's insane how the French go all out for celebrations. This independence day celebration kicked any 4th of July I've been to, to the curb. There was fire on the lawn, bubbles, special effects in the gardens and a symphony playing.

But I couldn't wait to see these fireworks, there were supposed to be incredible. We had a bottle of champagne ready to toast the occasion. Let me just say, the fireworks were better than I could have ever dreamt up. The fire display, the water display and the fireworks all worked together and matched the symphony.

It was a long walk back after that but man it sure was an amazing first full day in Paris. 

Bisous Bisous,